Ruthless
by JayDeeDubya
Summary: It all started when he overheard a conversation about an ex-Smasher and a restricted arena ruleset. What has Sonic's insatiable curiosity gotten him into now? Oneshot, contains violence, language and a few character deaths. Please R&R, concrit wanted.


**Author's Notes**: This one's going to be more serious in tone than my last 'fic. Contains violence, blood, mild language, character death. _Italics_used for flashback scenes (there's a couple of them in here), _"quoted italics" _for present-time thought, reverse for flashback thought.

**Disclaimer**: Incase you live under a rock or something, I don't own Smash Bros. Would be neat though, but alas.

Without further delay, here's my next abominat-er, fanfic,**Ruthless.**

* * *

Restless, the Smasher known as Sonic the Hedgehog groaned groggily and shifted in his bed, twisting the sheets into disarray. A question was grating on his mind, bothering him enough to keep him awake. Well, the obnoxious snoring emitting from Sonic's slumbering roommate, Yoshi, didn't help either. The blue Smasher was baffled as to why he was even losing sleep over such a question in the first place.

"Why is it called cruel?..." mumbled Sonic before finally drifting off into much-needed sleep.

_Sonic had just finished his daily routine of running laps around the Smash Bros. Base. One didn't stay the fastest thing alive by sitting on their ass waiting for the tournament to start all day, after all. The hedgehog was sprinting over to the kitchen for a drink when he overheard two voices._

_"... it's a shame, really, Master Hand needs to shut down that hellhole, it's too dangerous."_

_"To be fair, it's called cruel melee for a reason. But still, what happened to Roy..."_

_... was all Sonic caught before leaving earshot. He'd have stopped, but running was now usually an unconscious given at this point. When he wasn't mobile, the hedgehog was usually highly fidgety for this reason. Regardless, the snippets of conversation he'd overheard were enough to stir up a maelstrom of questions within Sonic's mind. "_Who is, or was, this Roy person, and what happened to him? What is cruel melee, and why is it apparently so dangerous?"_ were the two most prominent of these questions as the hedgehog retrieved a bottle of water from the fridge..._

* * *

"We're all gonna die, man the lifeboats!" was the startled cry as the violent blaring of a nearby alarm clock, which had caused Sonic to shoot to sitting straight up momentarily before collapsing into half-asleep grog after slamming his fist onto the top of the guilty appliance.

"You know, it's not good for you if you stay up all night like that," came the slightly-annoyed voice of Yoshi. Sonic groaned and pulled a pillow over his head, only to be met by a sharp jab to the gut, courtesy of the green dinosaur.

"Ow, ow, okay, I'm up, I'm up!" Sonic yelped, having fallen off his bed in response to Yoshi's 'wake-up call'. "By the by, Yoshi, you know anything about some guy named Roy?" he continued after getting his bearings, causing his roommate to flinch at the name.

Yoshi's gaze met the floor, his facial expression gone grim. "He was a Smasher before you got here, to say the least." Judging by the dinosaur's solemn expression, it probably would've been best to leave it at that. However, Sonic's curiosity would have no such thing.

"'Was'? What happened?" asked Sonic, raising a wondering eyebrow.

Yoshi sighed once again. "It's a long story..."

* * *

_The Smasher known as Roy nervously wiped his now-sweaty palms on his pants leg, preparing to step onto the Smash Transporter. _"Relax, how bad could it be?" _pondered the swordsman in a futile attempt to calm himself down. Why was he so hesitant all of a sudden, anyway?_

_"Good luck out there, my friend," encouraged another Smasher from Roy's home dimension, Marth, clapping a hand on the red-haired swordsman's shoulder. In the Smash Bros. Base, many competitors were from alternate realities, so those from the same realities tended to stick together and form bonds of friendship._

_Roy smirked and nodded, "How bad could it be?"  
_

* * *

"It's something I really don't want to talk about. Gruesome stuff, really," explained Yoshi after a moment's silence. Normally, Sonic's curious nature would've inclined him to pry further, but due to the dinosaur's general tone, he decided not to.

"Well, okay, I was just curious. Think I'm gonna go get some breakfast, later Yoshi," Sonic called, heading for the door. _"Sounds pretty heavy, I might have some trouble finding someone who will talk about it."_

"If you're really want answers that badly," came Yoshi's voice just as Sonic was about to exit the bedroom, causing the hedgehog to stop momentarily and turn around, eager to hear what the dinosaur had to say, "you may want to try Master Hand, he's usually in his office during the day."

_"The manager, of course!"_ Sonic mentally scolded himself for not coming to this conclusion on his own. "Thanks man, I'll keep it in mind," he responded, this time out loud, sprinting off to the kitchen for breakfast afterwards.

"I just hope he knows what he's getting into..."

* * *

"Cruel Melee?" queried Master Hand, making sure he'd heard the words of the blue hedgehog correctly, who confirmed this with a hesitant nod. "Who told you of its existence? All the veterans know that all information pertaining Cruel Melee is strictly prohibited since..." the hand trailed off.

Sonic gulped, slightly intimidated. He could tell by Master Hand's tone that he was not at all pleased by the nature of their discussion. "Nobody, sir. Well, not directly anyway."

"'Not directly'? Do elaborate."

"I just overheard part of a conversation, that's all," responded Sonic. "I don't actually know who it was talking, what with still getting to know people and all," he hastily added, answering the hand's next not-yet-asked question.

"Very well. Keep in mind that none of the other newcomers so much as even know of its' existence, and I'd strongly prefer to keep it that way. Don't so much as breathe a word of the mode's existence to any of the newcomers, unless you want to end up out of the tournament on your ass," Master Hand warned, clearing his throat or wherever it was he talked from shortly afterward. "For lack of a less crude term, at any rate, do I make myself clear!" he continued, the blue hedgehog nodding again in response, knowing he basically had no real choice in the matter, regardless.

"By the way," said Sonic after a moment's silence, "you never answered my question. Just what _is_ it?"

Master Hand sighed grimly. "A mistake... it was a terrible mistake."

* * *

_Marth's friendly smile faded as his face took on an expression of rather more grave seriousness. "Really, be careful, I've heard some bad things about cruel melee. Try not to get yourself killed or anything, okay?" Normally, Roy would've scoffed and gone on about 'I can handle it' and things like that in a joking manner, but he refrained from doing so when he picked up that his personal health may just have been on the line._

_"If you would be so kind, step onto the teleporter sometime today, Smasher Roy," called a monotonous, robotic voice belonging to one of the Wire Frames who was operating the control panel for the teleporter. Taking a deep breath in a final attempt to relax, Roy slowly stepped onto the device, which briskly transported him to a large flat, featureless arena, seemingly hanging in the middle of the cosmos. Final Destination was the stark battleground's calling, and the red-haired swordsman was quite familiar with it. _"No items, no gimmicks, just you and the enemy."

* * *

Fairly bummed from the information, or lack thereof, divulged by Master Hand, Sonic slumped into a chair at the Smashers' cafeteria, packet of lightly-toasted strawberry pop-tarts in hand. The hedgehog sat at the table in deep thought regarding his next action in this tightly-wound dilemma, indeed a rare happening for someone as hasty and spontaneous as Sonic the Hedgehog. He snapped out of his musings as he heard a second chair scoot against the floor, being pulled out at the same table by Yoshi.

"'lo, Sonic," the green dinosaur greeted cheerily, taking his seat.

"Oh, hey," Sonic responded rather uninterestedly, as his mind was still quite caught-up in thought.

"So how did your chat with Master Hand go?" Yoshi inquired.

"Lousy, didn't learn a thing. He could at least be a less damn cryptic about it," answered the hedgehog, slightly annoyed. "'A mistake... it was a terrible mistake'," he recapped in a mock-Master Hand imitation. "Any other bright ideas?"

"I really do think you should just leave it alone, and focus on practicing for the Brawl tournament. It starts in a few weeks, and everyone else is training pretty hard," Yoshi explained, voicing his honest opinion.

Sonic sighed, mixed feelings surfacing. "I know I should, but if I don't find out what the deal is with this stuff, it's just gonna eat at me until I do."

"I guess Mario wasn't kidding when he said you were a stubborn goat who was too one-track-minded for his own good," commented Yoshi, chuckling lightly at the hedgehog's incredulous expression at the remark.

"Gee, thanks, glad you think of me so highly," Sonic grumbled sarcastically.

"Hey, it seems pretty obvious that it's true. Since I can't think of a way to talk you into dropping it, you might be able to find some info from the Melee tournament records, but I don't think the newcomers' access cards are valid for it..."

* * *

Later that night, Sonic the Hedgehog lied awake in his bed, gazing at the ceiling and still pondering. He had something of a plan, but he had to be absolutely sure that his roommate was asleep. And precisely that, Yoshi was.

Sonic was never really one for stealth, but regardless, he got up, pushing aside his covers and slipping his sneakers on as quietly as possible, which was not very much so. Regardless, the hedgehog's racket was easily drowned out by Yoshi's obnoxiously loud snoring across the room. He crept slowly, much to his distaste, over to the dinosaur's nightstand next to his bed, quietly opening the single drawer.

_"Bingo,"_ thought Sonic, deftly retrieving Yoshi's Melee tournament access card from the small compartment, being especially careful to not be any noisier than he had to while closing the drawer and exiting the room, heading off down the hall towards the records room.

Little did the hedgehog know, one Smasher was still awake and in the halls, up late from extra training for the Brawl tournament. _"What could he possibly be doing at this hour...?"_ pondered this second Smasher, the visual feed of the green-tinted visor zooming in on unsuspecting Sonic, who was now cautiously jogging down the hall...

_"Three!" boomed the referee, the same Wire Frame as before through a voice-modification device, which was presumably for show; a robotic monotone didn't make a very good announcer voice, after all. Roy's feet gently landed on the featureless arena as he teleported in, immediately bracing himself and holding his sword diagonally up and to his left, both hands tightly grasping the handle in a defensive fighting stance ready to parry whatever came his way._

_"Two!" A Wire Frame fighter materialized in front of Roy, slightly bulkier than those in the other forms of multi-man melee arenas. _" A Wire Frame? That's it? Maybe Marth was exaggerating..."

_"One!" The Wire Frame took on its own form of battle-ready stance, eager to pulverize its unsuspecting foe into a bloody pulp. Roy smirked, less demoralized than before, after actually seeing his foe face-to-face. _"This'll be easy..." _He knew, after all, that in nine out of ten cases, Wire Frames were total pushovers when it came to the battle arena. What he didn't know was, he was about to meet that elusive tenth case._

_"GO!"_

* * *

With the exception of Sonic's presence, the records room was completely vacant of life, the monitors' faint glow accompanied by computer machinery emitting a low humming noise. By no means was Sonic an expert with computer systems, but he knew the basics at least. Opening a series of folders on the desktop of one of the systems, Sonic thought he'd found just what he was looking for, as the mouse cursor hovered over a list of movie files, presumably saved replays of previous battles.

**"Access Required, swipe Smasher ID Card"** scrolled across the screen as Sonic attempted to open the Cruel Melee subdirectory. Fully prepared for this, he pulled Yoshi's ID card out of his glove, lowering it to the scanning device.

"Ahem," came a voice, in the classic throat-clearing method of gaining one's attention. This intrusion scared Sonic out of his wits, causing him to spin and fall out of the chair he was in. "You _do_ know it's against the base rules to steal another Smasher's ID, right?" queried the voice in reference to Yoshi's ID card, flat and metallic as if going through some kind of advanced voice filter. Sonic got up, dusting himself off and turning around. What he saw was an advanced orange-and-gold armor suit, with various green strips of light throughout the limbs and large circular shoulderpads and matching visor. The most imposing part of it, though, was the right arm, which instead of a hand, was what seemed to be the barrel of a personal-sized cannon.

"So, what're you doing up so late, Samus?" Sonic questioned.

"I could ask you the same question," was Samus Aran's response, cutting off the voice filter, the real voice behind it being revealed as that of a human female in her 20's or so.

"_Very_ funny, I'm pretty sure I asked first," Sonic retorted with a smirk, meriting an annoyed sigh from the armor-clad bounty hunter.

"I wasn't aware clocking some late training was a crime, although I feel Master Hand will be rather irate if he finds that you've been snooping in the records. Especially with someone else's ID."

Sonic grinned sheepishly. "Nothing wrong with doing a little research, is there?"

"True enough, I suppose. Though as I can see, what you're trying to access is restricted from newcomers," Samus flatly stated.

"Y'know, it wouldn't hurt to lighten up a bit," laughed Sonic, the crack at her attitude causing the bounty hunter to roll her eyes behind her suit's visor.

"... _Anyway_," she cut in, still scowling slightly at the hedgehog's previous remark behind the blank mask, "I believe you have some explaining to do."

"Alright, alright, you don't need to bite my head off, yeesh!" Sonic exclaimed. "Well, here goes. See, a couple days ago..." he began, explaining the events leading him on his wild goose chase, beginning with the conversation he'd overheard.

* * *

_The swordsman rushed in, swiftly barraging the closest Wire Frame with a strong forward slash, quickly followed by a sideways swipe, a low-aimed stab, and a more powerful version of the first, all strung together in an awe-inspiring combo. Roy was slightly surprised when the Wire Frame didn't lose its footing, let alone move, from the onslaught, and was met by a powerful whirling kick to the face, causing him to skid to the edge of the Final Destination arena. Wiping the trail of fresh blood from his lip, he staggered to his feet, caught off-guard by the seemingly-impossibly-powerful blow from the Wire Frame._

_"Come on, get some," Roy taunted, focusing the power of fire into his blade, now poised ready to strike with a heavy downward slash, sword now beginning to glow. The taunt gaining the desired effect, the Wire Frame barreled towards the swordsman, prepared to slam him with another crushing blow. It had taken the bait._

_As the Wire Frame reached close quarters, Roy slammed his blade into it with as much strength as he could muster, releasing the focused fire energy, which in turn caused a massive explosion. Waving the smoke aside with his now-free left hand, the swordsman's gaze scanned his surroundings for a trace of his relentless foe. _"No use, the smoke's still too thick,"_ he observed, gracefully leaping up and over to gain a better view._

* * *

"So, in a nutshell, you want to find out about Cruel Melee, and nobody's telling you?" questioned Samus, regarding the general summary of Sonic's story.

"Yup, that's about it," Sonic confirmed, having divulged what was basically his life story for the last couple days.

"Answer me one thing. Have you ever heard the expression 'curiosity killed the cat'?" was the next question the bounty hunter directed at Sonic, who raised a skeptical eyebrow.

"Well, yeah. But I'm not a cat, so I figure it all works out," the hedgehog joked in a rather feeble attempt to lighten the hunter's mood; formality in general had always bothered Sonic, being that he had a notably-more carefree attitude than most, and an equally-shorthanded way of speaking.

Samus didn't audibly respond, busy with something on the computer system, which had been left untouched since the beginning of their conversation. A strange humming noise emitted from the hunter's helmet, images flashing on the visor too quickly for anyone other than Samus herself to decipher what they were. As the helmet's humming stopped, she tapped something on the side of it, causing a small, orange-gold chip to pop out, and handed the object to Sonic.

"What's this?" Sonic inquired, eyes inspecting the peculiar orange chip.

"All of the information you came here looking for, including the incident with Roy, and should be compatible with your RMBH device. If anyone asks, you didn't get that chip from me," answered Samus matter-of-factly.

"Wow, hey, thanks Sa... hey, I don't remember mentioning that to you."

If ever there was a time the normally-stoic bounty hunter would crack a smirk, it was now, even if hidden behind the ominous green visor. "One of these days, you'll learn to keep your voice down a little..." And with that, Samus Aran departed the records room, walking off to her bedroom to retire for the night.

Sonic hastily made his way back to his room as well, taking care to not wake Yoshi as he returned the ID card to its original location of the dinosaur's nightstand drawer. Climbing into his own bed, Sonic pulled a pair of headphones and his own RMBH, or Remote Match Broadcast Handheld in full, a standard-issue device to all Smashers which would pick up signal from the Brawl Room main console, allowing them to watch fights from afar when they couldn't be physically present, as well as having a chip drive for pre-saved replays.

Fingers writhing in anticipation, Sonic slipped the headphones on, and looked momentarily at the chip he'd been given by Samus. The chip was orange, having a slight gold glint under the lamp by Sonic's bed, as well as small, bright-green lines of some kind snaking throughout the object, presumably circuitry of some kind. Without further delay, Sonic inserted the chip into the RMBH, and selected the "**SSBMCMRoy**" replay from the list, eyes widening as the chip played back the first of its contents...

* * *

_Before Roy even landed, however, the Wire Frame had also risen from the veil of smoke, violently bashing the swordsman in the back of the head, both hands clasped in a way akin to hitting a volleyball. Roy, now rather heavily battered, crashed to the arena floor, blood now trailing freely from his nose and lip as he attempted to frantically scramble to his feet. Before he could do so, however, he was met with a hard kick to the right arm, the swordsman feeling a _crack _and a fresh explosion of pain in the respective area, causing him to shout out as he collapsed again._

_In desperation, Roy grasped his sword in his left, and now only good hand, feebly swinging it from his low vantage point on the arena floor. Easily avoiding the slash, the Wire Frame retaliated by stomping down on Roy's left wrist and twisting it with its foot, causing the red-haired swordsman to once again scream out in agony. Hope lost, he collapsed a final time to the floor, utterly defeated, waiting for the warp out._

_It never came, though. Roy felt a hand tightly grasp his throat, lifting him off the ground and cutting off his ability to breathe. The last thing the Smasher by the name of Roy saw was the cruel visage of his vicious yet expressionless adversary, before he was no more, drifting once and for all into darkness..._

* * *

Yoshi awoke early as usual, mentally groaning at the prospect of once again having to wake Sonic._"Damn it, he sleeps in WAY too much..."_ The still-half-asleep dinosaur stumbled over across the room to Sonic's bed, ready to jab him out of his sleep as per the regular drill, only to be surprised by the hedgehog being already awake. The dim glow of dawn's first light seeped through the halfway-up blinds, creating lines of dull sunlight on the adjacent window.

"Well, you're up early. Isn't that like a sign of the apocalypse or something?" greeted Yoshi, stifling a yawn.

"Oh, ha _ha,_" Sonic retorted, emphasizing the last syllable. "I got my info last night, so happy day and stuff," the hedgehog halfheartedly continued. "Now I guess I see why nobody wanted to talk about it. He _died_, man, that thing _killed_ him."

Yoshi nodded darkly. "Yeah, but... how did you find out? I thought info about Cruel Melee was prohibited to people that didn't already know about it."

"Well... I _kinda_, er, 'borrowed' your Smasher ID," answered Sonic sheepishly, conveniently omitting his run-in with Samus and earning an irritated glare from Yoshi. "Don't worry, I put it back where I found it after I was done!" he added, cutting the dinosaur off as he was about to say something.

"Y'know, you _could've_ just asked..."

"Tch, please, you snore louder than Ganondorf shouts when he's on one of his 'oh-look-at-me-I'm-the-lord-of-all-evil-fear-me-mortals' rants. Guy's got some lungs, to be sure," explained Sonic, causing his green dinosaur roommate to roll his eyes as the hedgehog's own rant trailed increasingly far off from the initial conversational subject.

"Oh, _really_. I'll have to let him know you think so highly of his 'speeches' or whatever it is he calls them," Yoshi retorted with a slight frown.

"Whatever. On the very good chance I get horribly maimed, though," started Sonic's rebuttal, "you're paying my medical bills. And _now_, I'm gonna go get some breakfast, later."

* * *

As per the usual humdrum drill, Sonic briskly jogged to the Smash Base cafeteria. However, he stopped in front of Master Hand's office, stopping dead in his tracks as his sense of curiosity took over at the sound of voices chattering away inside.

"... why you must understand, with all the new participants, we cannot possibly accommodate all Smashers, new and old, there is simply not enough space," was Master Hand's businessmanly tone.

"I do know what you are trying to say. However, I believe you've yet to answer my small friend's question," came a second voice, this one particularly calm and intelligent, seemingly too clear to have come from vocal cords.

"Yeah, why _me_?" squeaked a third, childishly high-pitched.

"Well, you see, Pichu," Master Hand directed towards the the third voice, now known to be that of the tiny yellow mouse pokemon by the respective name. "We only have room for 36 Smashers at the Base, and your performance has left much to be desired. It's nothing personal, I simply cut the one with the most lacking performance."

"As you are fully aware, Pichu performed excellently in the Melee tournament, and-" began the second voice.

"Very substandard afterwards, thank you for much-unneeded recap, Mewtwo," Master Hand cut in.

"_Ahem_," snapped Mewtwo, the identity behind the second voice, a mock throat-clearing noise transmitted telepathically, the genetic pokemon's preferred method of communication. "As I was saying, I have sworn to care for the youth for lack of true family, he may room with me if it solves your housing dilemma."

"I know you've always been one for theatrics and show, Mewtwo, but kindly get to the point sometime_today_," stated Master Hand in his usual emotionless tone, placing emphasis on the last word.

"My point is, to put it bluntly," Mewtwo continued matter-of-factly, "if Pichu goes, I go as well."

Master Hand sighed with annoyance. "You leave me in a tough situation, Mewtwo."

"Likewise. Think it over. Until then, I bid you adieu," was the cat-like genetic pokemon's final response. "Come Pichu, we are going to breakfast." And with that, the pokemon duo left the disembodied glove manager's office. Sonic, darting away shortly before the door flew open, was inwardly thankful of his super speed, his trademark physical trait helping the hedgehog elude what could've been a potentially-awkward confrontation.

* * *

Sonic sat down at his usual seat and table in the cafeteria, plate piled high with buttered, syrup-soaked waffles. Glad that he'd solved his thought dilemma, the hedgehog hastily dug into the breakfast foods, savoring the rich, sweet flavor which he'd previously have been too deep in thought to fully enjoy.

"You know," came a voice, causing Sonic to nearly gag on a mouthful of waffle in surprise, "It's rude to eavesdrop on others' conversations." He turned around, being met by the previous pokemon duo of Mewtwo and Pichu.

Sonic attempted to utter a hasty apology, but being that his mouth was full to the brim with half-chewed waffle, all he managed was a string of garbled gibberish.

Mewtwo chuckled. "As you can plainly see, Pichu," he addressed the mouse with an instructor's tone, "this is a prime example of bad table manners, and I'd ask you to not follow it."

"Gotcha," nodded Pichu. "Don't be like Sonic, chew your food!" the mouse chimed, as if it were some kind of slogan.

"Hey now, that's just cold, man," Sonic retorted after swallowing the mouthful of waffle, "and like I, er, tried to say before, sorry 'bout that."

"I believe it cannot be helped at this point. Although I _could _simply wipe your memory..." mused Mewtwo, obviously mulling over his next action.

"Whoa, whoa, no need for that! I could try and help 'ya think it all out or something!" Sonic stammered, fearful for his memory, which was something he'd rather not have lost.

Mewtwo sighed in slight frustration. "I suppose it would to little good in the long run. Have you any ideas, Sonic?"

Sonic scratched his blue-spined head, trying to come to a conclusion. A few minutes later, he wound up at something of an idea.

"Well, lemme know if I'm wrong, but the Hand said Pichu was out because he wasn't doing well in fights, right?" questioned Sonic.

"Yup, that's what the meanie said!" Pichu squeaked, somewhat downcast.

"In a basic sense, yes. I sense you have an idea, please do share," was Mewtwo's always-calm input.

Sonic chuckled, cracking a grin. "Simple. Prove him wrong."

* * *

"Wow, you've gotten quite a bit tougher, Sonic. Didn't think you'd actually thrash Ganondorf that badly," Yoshi congratulated his blue-spined roommate after an astounding performance later that day. Sure enough, Yoshi had followed through with his planned action regarding Sonic's mocking, causing the Gerudo tyrant to challenge Sonic to a brawl, expecting to give the newcomer a thorough asskicking for his arrogance. The real surprise of it, though, was a flawless performance on the hedgehog's part, resulting in an appropriately lightning-fast-paced win against said Lord of Evil.

"What can I say, since I got my mind off those, uh, certain topics, I've been able to focus a lot harder on training for the Brawl tournament." Truth be told, Sonic knew that Pichu and Mewtwo were in the audience for his match. Shortly before the match, Master Hand had agreed to arrange a 'special' fight for Pichu's re-admittance as a Smasher with help of the hedgehog's vote of confidence. Mewtwo had been admitted to fight alongside Pichu, as the two's prime strength was being an outstanding team, possibly one of the most-feared two-on-two tag teams in the Smash Base. Sonic, however, had gotten no such right. As a result, he attempted to indirectly assist in the best way he could: giving the young mouse pokemon a good example of how to fight. "Think I'm gonna turn in early tonight, Yoshi. Good luck on your brawl with Snake, I hear he's got some pretty nasty tricks up his sleeve." And with that, Sonic jogged off to his room, ready for a restful night's sleep.

As Sonic went to turn the knob and enter the bedroom, he noticed a small envelope taped to the door. Seeing that it was addressed to him, he took it down, reading the note inside, neatly written in black ball-point pen.

_"To one Sonic the Hedgehog._

_As I am sure you are aware, mine and Pichu's re-admittance fight is tomorrow. I owe you much for assisting us in reaching this opportunity, and I am saddened that you cannot fight alongside us. However, after seeing your fight with Ganondorf this evening, Pichu has started feeling somewhat uneasy, in regards to his fighting ability. If you are willing to lend your assistance once more, make your way to the training room as soon as you read this letter, I feel that some advice would set him at ease._

_Grateful for your deeds,_

_Mewtwo."_

Sonic arrived in the training room mere seconds after reading the letter, in another display of reasoning behind his title of 'fastest thing alive'.

"Ah, it is good of you to join us so promptly, Sonic," greeted Mewtwo with a rather rare hint of emotion in his telepathic voice.

"No sweat, I'm glad to help, really," Sonic responded, flashing his signature grin and thumbs-up. "By the way, did Master Hand say what kind of match the re-admittance fight was gonna be?"

Mewtwo nodded in affirmation. "He indeed did, but has requested that I not tell anyone what it is. You will find out tomorrow," answered the genetic pokemon. "I will say, however, that it is highly dangerous," he continued, putting emphasis on the last two words, as if hinting something towards Sonic. "Now, I must meditate and focus my powers for the upcoming battle, I take it you two will be fine alone for a short time?" Mewtwo requested, making his way to the door after getting a positive nod from Sonic and Pichu. "Very well, then."

"Ooh, this is gonna be so fun! You can teach me to fight better," Pichu squeaked gleefully, meriting another thumbs-up from Sonic. "And I can teach you how to eat waffles right tomorrow!" the hedgehog grimaced slightly, remembering the confrontation that morning, but shrugged it off.

"Haha, yup. Now, let's see what you can do!" exclaimed Sonic, as the two stepped onto the training field warp pad.

* * *

The following morning, all of the Smashers were united at the Brawl Room screening area, save for the two fighters, who were doing their final stretches and preparations before the match as Sonic hesitantly approached them.

"Guys, look..." Sonic trailed off.

Mewtwo raised a curious eyebrow. "What is it that troubles you, Sonic?"

"I... I think I caught onto your hint from yesterday. The re-admittance test is Cruel Melee, isn't it?" questioned Sonic, his fears realized as Mewtwo responded with a solemn nod. "What is that damn glove thinking!" the hedgehog seethed.

"Language, Sonic, you forget that Pichu is still an impressionable child."

"Hey, am not!" protested Pichu, trying on Sonic's signature thumbs-up pose in an attempt to lighten the mood of the other two Smashers, effectively proving Mewtwo's point.

"Right, sorry. Anyway, someone's_died_ in Cruel Melee, we need to work something else out!" Sonic exclaimed, desperate to prevent the duo from walking, or rather warping, into their demise.

"I'm fully aware of Roy, although I did not know newcomers knew of him or his death. I must say, you've proven to be quite the sleuth."

"Look, it's not about me here, I just don't want to see you guys get killed!"

"Me and Uncle Mewtwo talked about it a bit ago, I know it can get bad in there. But I'm sure we'll be fine with all the awesome fighting advice you gave me yesterday!" squeaked Pichu, childishly cheerful even in this dire situation.

"We are both willing to take the risk, whatever they may be," added Mewtwo, Sonic's head sinking in response.

It took Sonic a moment after that to find his voice again. "... Right, so I guess there's no talking you out of it," he resigned, knowing he wasn't going to win this argument. "Just... take care of yourselves, okay?" requested the hedgehog, extending his arm in offer of a handshake to Mewtwo, who calmly obliged. He now turned to Pichu, who was blissfully nonchalant, despite even the risk from the upcoming Cruel Melee. "Remember buddy, speed's your game, don't let him hit ya, just like we practiced."

"Yup! Pichu's my name, speed's my game!" chimed the tiny mouse, in imitation of the catch-phrase Sonic used when he first arrived at the Smash Base, causing the hedgehog to chuckle lightly.

"Smashers Mewtwo and Pichu, step onto the warp pads," came the mechanized tones of the Wire Frame operator, the two respective Smashers promptly obliging. Regretfully, Sonic took a seat in the audience's area by Yoshi, who was sporting a couple brilliant purple bruises and a few and a slightly-scorched appearance, courtesy of his previous brawl with Snake.

"So, how'd that go for ya?" asked Sonic after noticing the dinosaur's battle-scuffing, his voice still missing its usual upbeat, optimistic tone.

Yoshi shrugged. "Could've gone better, obviously, you weren't kidding when you said the guy had some tricks," was his matter-of-factly answer. "Hey, is something wrong? You don't seem quite yourself today."

Sonic sighed. "It's nothing, I'm just a bit worried is all."

"Yeah, I think everyone is, a little. After... Roy, nobody takes Cruel Melee lightly," agreed Yoshi. "Anyway, the match's starting, so watch and stuff."

"Don't get yourselves killed out there..."

* * *

"I must ask that you be at utmost attention at all times during this match, Pichu, lest you _will_ be injured," instructed Mewtwo as the duo warped into the Final Destination arena, which many Smashers regarded as a good proving ground for skill due to its featureless nature.

"Aye aye, _sir_!" Pichu affirmed in his usual chipper tone, right hand raising to his forehead in a salute.

"Three!" boomed the usual Wire Frame announcer. On cue, two bulky Wire Frame fighters appeared on the stark platform arena, quickly warming up with some flexing, and punches and kicks at empty space.

"Two!" Pichu's cheeks sparked with electricity in anticipation.

"One!" Mewtwo's eyes glowed a faint purplish hue, as he focused and readied his vast psychic powers for combat.

"GO!" roared the announcer, signaling the start of Pichu and Mewtwo's fateful re-admission brawl. No sooner than the start was signaled, the two Frame fighters barreled forward towards Mewtwo, quickly analyzing the feline-esque pokemon as the greater threat of the two Smashers. Pichu, meanwhile, braced himself as he charged up his Skull Bash attack.

As the Frames approached close-combat distance, Mewtwo released a crushing mental blast, stunning the first in place, and narrowly missing the second. Frame #2 was met by the small, yellow mouse Pichu crashing head-on into its abdominal area, causing its assault to relent for a couple seconds as it stumbled backwards a couple steps from the heavy damage inflicted. Using this opportunity, Mewtwo levitated the Frame #1 via telekinesis, hurling it into the Frame #2 and barraging them both with several miniature Shadow Ball strikes. Adding the icing to the proverbial cake, Pichu darted right up to the two currently-collapsed Frames, loosing Thunder in the form of a fearsome lightning bolt from the heavens above and causing the lethal fighters to tumble slightly in either direction.

Immediately following the tag-team's potent assault, the Frames got to their feet, as if nothing had happened, the second sending Pichu sprawling with a sweeping low kick as he attempted to retreat to a safe distance, dazing the mouse and sending him skidding several meters across the arena floor. Pichu wasted no time in recovering, rolling swiftly to his feet in a method resembling that of a certain hedgehog he seemed to be imitating increasingly more lately. Seizing the opening for a counterattack, Pichu unleashed a storm of sparks on Frame #2, causing the grid-patterned fiend to collapse to the arena floor, convulsing violently as it was electrocuted.

Across the Final Destination arena, however, Mewtwo was in a slightly more problematic situation. Frame #1 steadily advanced on the genetic pokemon, enduring the bulk of his psychic-fueled onslaught, exhaustion increasing the difficulty of a lot of Mewtwo's combative psychic abilities. Preparing for the worst, Mewtwo began to charge up a particularly-destructive Shadow Ball.

As Frame #1 got within attacking distance, it suddenly began wildly flailing as Pichu latched himself to its skull, biting and clawing with surprising ferocity for such a small creature, as he brought a steady barrage of Thunder attacks down onto the still-thrashing Frame #1. "Take it _down_, Uncle Mewtwo!" growled Pichu, his relentless point-blank attack continuing.

Nodding silently, Mewtwo threw his right hand forward, releasing the devastating buildup of shadow energies onto Frame #1, causing it to ignite in seemingly-unnatural blackish-purple fire. Pichu, having detached himself from the gridded cranium just in the nick of time, delivered the finishing blow in the form of another Skull Bash, sending the now badly beaten Frame #1 careening over the side of the arena, and into oblivion. Shortly after this, Mewtwo collapsed to one knee, exhausted from his recent assault, that last Shadow Ball in particular, which had been far more potent than the genetic pokemon usually preferred.

"Have you eliminated the other, Pichu?" queried Mewtwo, breathing heavily as he attempted to regain some of his strength.

"I didn't knock him off the stage, but I sure did put him out of-" Pichu was interrupted by the crushing impact of a powerful kick to the back of his lower cranial region. The blow effectively ended his life as it broke the mouse pokemon's neck with an unpleasant _crunch_ noise, the now-lifeless body sent flying rag-doll off of the stage and into the gaping abyss below. Sure enough, Frame #2 was still in the fight, if a bit worse for wear.

Mewtwo was stunned by this turn of events. Pichu was _gone_. _Forever_. A rarely-experienced, and in the genetic pokemon's case, particularly dangerous emotion boiled within him: rage. Surely, he knew the risks presented when the duo took the challenge. In short, Mewtwo had, in a rare folly, been overconfident, cocky even. He had not actually _expected_ death on this day, yet it was presented nonetheless. Mewtwo's mind quickly set on but one solution.

"Vengeance..." uttered Mewtwo, in the telepathic equivalent of a hoarse whisper, as Frame #2 closed in, intent on making two life-ending strikes in this battle, and not just one. "Will be..._mine,_" he continued, his telepathic voice taking on a deadly, malice-filled tone. Mewtwo mentally hoisted Frame #2 into the air, slamming it straight down and pummeling it with his semi-long tail. Giving his murderer of a foe no time to retaliate, Mewtwo focused every last ounce of the remainder of his psychic power into one final, and hopefully match-ending attack.

Frame #2 was lifted roughly ten feet above the arena floor, hovering momentarily before Mewtwo manipulated the telekinesis suspending it, brutally slamming into the floor rapidly up-and-down. The genetic legendary was not done yet, however, as he once again slammed Frame #2 face-down, this time sending it dragging back and forth against the floor in a motion somewhat akin to a giant cheese grater. As Mewtwo's power began to dwindle, he once again suspended Frame #2, this time right in front of him, unleashing his final reserves of psychic energy in a horrific barrage of Shadow Ball attacks, all hitting their mark dead-on and exploding violently in a brilliant blackish-purple blaze.

_"This had damn well better have been worth the exertion, there is NO chance of this act of murder going unpunished,"_ Mewtwo mentally raged, deep down being desperate that the overexerted assault had eliminated his gridded foe. He could, however, only watch and wait for the smoke to clear, as he was now too weakened to do much of anything else. Mewtwo's hopes crashed, however, as a foot firmly stepped out of the shroud of smoke with a resounding _clack._

Mewtwo's eyes widened in horror as he beheld the still-battle-ready figure of Frame #2. "_Impossible_, what madness is this!" What happened next, chilled Mewtwo to the bone.

_"__**Do not resist. It will all be over soon...**__"_ echoed through Mewtwo's mind, the feline-esque psychic's eyes frantically darting about, attempting to locate the source of the voice. Reaching realization after a few more seconds, Mewtwo's eyes rested firmly on his foe, Frame #2, right in front of him.

"You. It's... _you_..." was the nearly-defeated psychic's revelation, in regards to Frame #2, who slowly nodded in confirmation.

_"__**Submit, you cannot possibly battle anymore.**__"_

"You will pay for your crime."

_"__**You remind us of the last before you. The red-haired one, with the sword. He died fighting, kicking and screaming to his final breath."**_

"It is not about Roy, it is about you, murderer."

_"__**Only the bravest of the brave challenge us. Those with no regard to their life. Those willing to throw away such a significant gift."**_

"... gives you _no_ right..."

Frame #2 drew closer, knowing full well that Mewtwo was now nigh incapable of combat, despite his persistent denial. _"__**ou come knowing the inevitable. Your companion paid his price. Now end your suffering, pay yours.**__"_

"... will _not_..."

_"__**If you will not submit,**__" _started Frame #2, _"__**then we shall forcibly take our toll.**__"_ The Frame's grip closed tightly around Mewtwo's throat, gagging hoarsely as his windpipe was pressed shut.

"So this is how it ends.." mused Mewtwo, telepathy the extent of what he could still manage. "I've one question, though." Mewtwo's thrashing limbs fell limp, having accepted his inevitable demise. He would be alive for a few moments more as he suffocated. "What _are_ you?"

His slayer's answer was but one word. _"__**Ruthless.**__"_

* * *

At that moment, Sonic the Hedgehog cursed himself repeatedly back at the Smash Base, as he watched Mewtwo's life spiral into eternal sleep on the wide-screen monitor. "All my fault..." muttered Sonic hoarsely, coming to grips with what had just taken place. "I pushed them into this..."

Sonic's mind unconsciously raced back to a certain encounter a couple nights before.

_"Yup, that's about it," Sonic confirmed, having divulged what was basically his life story for the last couple days._

_"Answer me one thing. Have you ever heard the expression 'curiosity killed the cat'?"_

That last phrase echoed repeatedly, rebounding over and over again within the confines of the hedgehog's skull, as if rubbing salt into an open wound. He hadn't really known its meaning then, but he sure as hell did now.

Sonic's mind definitely had a strange way of punishing his ignorance sometimes...

* * *

**Author's Notes: **Woo, it's finally done! And now for the clearing-up-details game!

-I'd just like to say, I've got no ill will towards Roy, Mewtwo or Pichu (Although admittedly, it _is_ fun to smack people up as the little bugger in SSBM), my main reason for killing them off is for a fictional approach to why they aren't in Brawl.

-I know Sonic got a little angsty towards the end of the story, but that's intended in moderation, due to the general situation. Apologies, though, if he got too far OOC.

-That psychic paddleball/cheese-grater attack Mewtwo did? Seeing as he's not in Brawl, and doesn't have a Final Smash for that reason, I figured I'd get a little creative on that front, y'see?

-I know, I probably should've kept Roy's flashback all in one piece. I guess it's kind of an experimental thing, though, I thought that in theory it'd work split-up as a hook or something. Glad if you liked the idea, sorry if it annoyed you.

-Regarding the 'curiosity killed the cat' schtick at the end, it's actually kind of a reference to Mewtwo, being that (in my opinion, at any rate), he is somewhat feline in appearance. So if you didn't catch that, here you are.

-In regards to the telepathic conversation between the Frame and Mewtwo, I detailed it with only him because of his psychic abilities. I'd kinda relate it to unconsciously mind-reading or something, I just put it in the context of a conversation for clarity purposes, as the Frame obviously knew Mewtwo could 'hear' it. Oh, and with the Frame's 'us' deal, I guess I was going for a 'hive mind' thing, for lack of better term at 8 AM, with the two Frames in that fight. Might be kinda lame, but whatever.

Well, I think that's about that, JoshDW awaaaay! Oh, and don't forget to review, I'm always looking for a nudge in the right direction.


End file.
